I Like You
by madjack89
Summary: Kouichi has just been freed from Duskmon's control, but he's having a hard time coping with everything that's happened. Will Zoe be able to cheer him up? Set during episode 33, Kouichi's and Zoe's POVs, big hints of Kouizumi, smaller hints of Kouzumi.


**I Like You**

_madjack89:_ Hi everyone! Now, first off, I really liked how this story originally came out, but when I was re-reading it the other day, I realized it could use some tweaking. So here is a new, improved version of "I Like You," complete with Kouizumi awesomeness!

_Kouichi and Zoe:_ _*roll eyes at my weirdness*_

_madjack89:_ To those who liked the original story, don't worry. It's pretty much the same, only more detailed and (in my opinion) better written. Enjoy!

_**Disclaimer:**_** For the last time, I am not a Japanese corporate suit sitting behind a big desk and counting all the money I managed to squeeze out of the Digi-gang! **

_**Author's Note:**_** This is set during episode 33 of the anime and is written from Kouichi's and Zoe's POVs, for those who don't remember.**

—

I opened my eyes slowly, almost tentatively. I didn't know where I was, only that I was lying face down on a cold, rocky surface. It was so dark everywhere…

"Kouichi?"

That voice snapped me out of my dazed stupor. It was his voice. I had only heard him speak a few other times, and his tone had always held more than a small amount of confidence (almost cockiness), but this tiny, quivering voice was his. And he'd spoken my name.

Then my memories came flooding back, almost like they'd burst through a dam, hitting my mind with merciless fury. Suddenly, I was myself again. No darkness, no spirits, just Kouichi Kimura, a random kid who'd accidentally wandered into a world full of monsters…and become one himself.

I shot into a sitting position, finally recognizing the awful extent of my crimes. I had killed. Worse, I'd killed completely innocent creatures without batting an eyelash! The darkness in which I'd been encased hadn't allowed me to feel anything. Numb, hollow, obedient…why had I wanted that so badly? Was it better than this, my humanity?

This thought led me to an even more sick and twisted realization. I hadn't just slaughtered other monsters; I'd tried to kill humans as well. Kids, humans, just like me, and I'd hunted them down like animals! No, even animals would have been shown more mercy.

And worst of all, I had nearly killed him…

"What have I done? How could I have let this happen?" I found my voice again, not that cold voice which had so lately been ripped from my throat, saying the most heartless things imaginable, things I'd never dream of saying to anyone…or would I? I wasn't sure. I'd been dormant for so long that I couldn't tell who I was anymore. A victim? A pawn? A murderer…?

I couldn't bear this. The guilt was overwhelming. I just wanted to…

"Um, is he…?" There was his voice again, still small and unsure. From the sound of it, he was standing in front of me, give or take a few feet between us. I couldn't look up to face him, though. Not now, with the atrocities I'd committed. I no longer deserved to meet my brother. Besides, he probably didn't want me now…

"Aw man. He's Duskmon?" I recognized this voice as well, though it wasn't his. It must belong to the kid with the goggles. I didn't know his name, only that he held the Spirits of Fire. He continued speaking to my brother, but I stopped paying attention after "Duskmon."

Duskmon. That one name summed up everything that had gone wrong since that day in Shibuya. I'd just tried to reach my brother, to regain at least some part of my broken family. Why had I listened to that voice? Why had I surrendered all my control to the Spirit? It hadn't solved anything. In fact, it had strengthened my pain. Now I was a murderer, a cold-blooded monster…

My vision blurred, and the landscape beneath me swirled into a fuzzy grey void, a painful reminder of the haze that had clouded my eyes under the influence of darkness. That wasn't the case now, and I knew I was on the verge of tears. But what gave me the right to cry? Why should I even have the right to feel guilty? I didn't deserve that much. I didn't deserve anything!

"Alright, spill it!" Ah, there was the voice I knew. He was angry now, as he should be. I could have given him some other indication that I'd heard his words; a wave of the hand, a nod of the head. Instead, I lifted my eyes.

And there he was. Kouji Minamoto. My twin brother. The one I had hoped and dreamed of someday meeting.

From the way his gaze traveled down to meet mine, the coldness in his stance, the distance that he continued to maintain between us, I could tell that he hated me. I shouldn't have been surprised, and I wasn't. Looks like trying to kill him on multiple occasions hadn't been a very good icebreaker. And besides, he was the Warrior of Light, and I was still steeped in darkness. Weren't we supposed to hate each other?

I rose shakily to my feet, this thought still buzzing inside my mind. If he hated me now, then didn't I have the right to hate him in return? I mean, he had tried to kill me, too. Maybe it had been self-defense, or maybe he really wanted me dead. I just wasn't sure anymore. As I glared back into his frozen eyes, Kouji continued my interrogation. "Is it true? I have to know, and I need to hear it from you. Are you my brother, and if you are, is our mother still alive? Tell me right now!"

That did it. I'd plunged down the tip of the iceberg now. Hate me? Yeah, in my wildest dreams. It was much, much worse than that. Kouji didn't hate me; he didn't want anything to do with me!

I could hate him. This emotion was one I'd had experience with, both in the past and recently. But could I just…forget him? Could I pretend that he didn't exist and move on with my life, telling myself that all this had been the delusion of some lonely kid who only wished he had a long-lost sibling? No I couldn't, because this wasn't a delusion. We were brothers, whether we liked it or not. These were my convictions, but I could tell from the way Kouji had addressed me that he was content with apathy. Sure, he wanted the truth. Who wouldn't? But he'd do nothing with the information. Why not just leave me in this world and forget any of this had happened? I'd caused him nothing but pain. It would be better to forget.

But I couldn't forget. I had wanted to meet my brother so badly that it hurt. I didn't want to be alone anymore…but that was how he planned to leave me. Alone in this dark place, wandering, drifting, calling out to the shadows of people who had abandoned me long ago…

But didn't I deserve that? Why should I have anything resembling happiness anymore?

I felt a sudden, sharp pain in my temples, and I instinctively clutched my throbbing head between my palms. Splotches of color danced across my closed eyelids. The angry reds and oranges brought on by my headache swirled with the deep blue of my brother's eyes, creating a dizzying kaleidoscope of color. The throbbing intensified until I felt that my head would split in two.

Then he spoke. "Hey, what's the matter with you? Say something!" His tone was harsh, and his impatience even harsher, but his words lifted my broken spirits. Though he had caused me great pain, something Cherubimon had never neglected to remind me, Kouji's presence gave me hope. Yes, I had royally screwed things up, but my brother was still here. If he didn't care, wouldn't he have left already? If he truly did hate me, wouldn't I be dead right now?

The headache receded, and my eyes snapped open. An angry hue momentarily remained around my pupils, but it quickly dispelled. I had to force myself to think rationally. Kouji wouldn't just leave me here. Even if he hated me, I was his twin. He couldn't be cold-hearted enough to leave me alone in a place like this, with no way to defend myself. Still, his stance was wary, and I felt another guilt-ridden pang course through me. In my stupid fantasies, I'd imagined Kouji and I becoming close, but that could never happen. After all, he couldn't trust me now.

No one was talking, and I realized that Kouji was waiting for me to answer his questions. I owed him an explanation, if nothing else, so I finally said, "It's all true."

Then I told him everything, from the very beginning. Grandma's confession, finding his address, being unable to approach him due to a sense of paranoia on my part. Then my mother, working twice as hard to cover her grief and concern, concern that I was keeping secrets from her. Which I was.

As I described our mother's dilemma to him, Kouji's eyes began to soften, and I could finally see the concern hidden beneath the cold. But this concern wasn't meant for me. He just felt sorry for Mom. He'd never pity me, not that I wanted his pity. No, all I'd sought from introducing myself to Kouji was some semblance of stability in my rapidly collapsing view of life. But I didn't deserve that now. I didn't even want it, or at least I shouldn't have wanted it, because it was no longer a possibility.

"Poor Mom," Kouji muttered, lowering his head in…shame?

"She never complains," I said quickly, noticing a guilty expression cross my brother's face. He had absolutely nothing to be guilty about. Out of all the people involved in this mess, he was the most innocent. "Anyway, it was later that same day that I saw you on the train." (Author's Note: Okay, was this a dubbing error or what? I mean, in the flashback with Kouichi and his mom, it's clearly nighttime, but on the day they all went to the Digital World, it was just going on 6 p.m. Eh, maybe I'm thinking too hard.)

"I was right!" I was a bit startled when the goggle-headed kid suddenly spoke. It's not that I'd forgotten he was standing in the background, but…he was standing in the background. However, the next thing I knew his face was in front of mine, studying me intently. I was surprised to find that his expression held no traces of anger or hate. More painful memories flashed through my mind, and I remembered all that I'd done to this kid as Duskmon. I'd nearly killed him not once, but twice. Only Kouji's interference had managed to save him. This boy had every reason to despise me, but I could tell that he didn't. In fact, he seemed curious.

"You were the one I saw trying to get in," he continued, acting as if he'd come to a great conclusion. Suddenly, recognition kicked in, and I realized that I'd seen this boy back in our world as well. On the train to Shibuya, I'd noticed him standing across the aisle from Kouji. He was the one who had shouted and made that big scene. Then I'd run into him again, leaping onto the elevator that had barred me from my brother. And he'd literally leaped.

I stifled a chuckle at the memory, realizing that any unexplained laughter on my part now would make me seem insane. Heck, I was probably insane already. Either way, the goggle-head continued speaking, "But wait, you didn't get on that train, so how did you end up in the Digital World without a Trailmon?"

Hm, good question. I paused, thinking back to that day in the train station. I'd almost given up after missing the elevator. Perhaps it would have been better if I had walked away; no, it _would_ have been better. But that wasn't what I'd done. I'd sealed my fate and taken the stairs. I'd been running…then I'd tripped, and…

"Actually, I can't remember," I said, coming to this realization myself. I gave the others a quick explanation of what had occurred. "It's all like a giant blur after that. Next thing I know, I'm here."

Now I'd gotten to the most painful part of my story. "I thought I had died, that this world was the afterlife, and that I was just some spirit floating around in it. I didn't know where to go or what to do."

I was spouting off random bursts of thought at this point, but I didn't know how else to convey what I'd felt in that dark dimension. All my memories had swirled around me, beating down the puny defense I'd held against the rage inside. Either I hadn't buried my anger deep enough, or it was just too volatile to contain. Perhaps a bit of both. Jealousy, hatred…it all seemed so stupid and pointless now. At the time, though, it had seemed right.

I'd thought Kouji was so lucky. He had what I'd been longing for all my life. Every birthday wish had been the same, every letter to Santa containing my secret desire that not even Mom could know. "Please bring my daddy back home so we can all be a family together!" Of course, my wish never came true. There were no letters from Dad, no phone calls, nothing. I probably could have let it all go if I'd known what had happened to him. That wasn't how he'd wanted it, though. It's easy to lie to a child, huh? Easy to lead a young son to believe everything you say without question, easy to tell him he has no brother, his father has left him without a trace. His mother is dead.

Such stupid, pointless jealousy. Kouji hadn't gotten the better end of this bargain, not in the slightest. At least I hadn't been told my father was dead. But, not having known his side of the story, I'd just assumed that my brother was blissfully happy, leaving my mother and I with nothing but more bills to pay. All the anger and rage had literally pulled me down further into despair. Shifting shapes and images of my father, my grandmother, even Kouji, had flitted around my vision, and then vanished in a puff of smoke, abandoning me as if I meant less than nothing to them. "In a strange world…I felt angry and betrayed.

"Then I met him." It was no wonder I'd clung to his words so fiercely. They'd been my only lifeline in a sea of hate and pain. I would have followed anyone, done anything, to get out of that dismal place. Unfortunately, that was just what Cherubimon had been looking for.

He had seemed so sincere when he spoke to me. His voice had been deep, harsh, but strangely soothing. Everything I felt he spelled out in words, as if he truly did understand what I was going through. I hadn't wanted to trust him, but still his voice managed to reach me, taking me deeper into the dark. Yes, I'd believed darkness could heal me, simply because Cherubimon had told me it would. It was such a relief not to have to think for myself, to let him take the wheel. All he'd wanted was for me to give in to the spirit's control, and I'd done it gladly, without a second thought. Until I hurt Kouji…

I stopped, since I figured that the others knew the rest. Their eyes were trained on me, as if waiting for a punch line, hoping vainly for a release from this cosmic joke. I lowered my gaze, unable to deliver such a message. Despite the absurdity of it all, what I'd told them was the truth.

No one spoke for the longest time. We all just stood, listening to the faint breeze as it blew past. I felt tears threatening to spill from my eyes again, weighed down by the oppressive silence. Finally, my brother broke the quiet with a long, weary sigh. I tensed, knowing what was about to happen. I'd rehearsed it in my head a few times now. First, Kouji would sigh as he just had. Then he'd thank me for telling him the truth in a calm, level voice. In that same voice, he'd say the thing I most dreaded to hear. _"Now go home. If you have nothing more to tell me, then we're done."_

"I'm…sorry."

My head shot up so fast I thought it would snap off my neck. Had I heard that correctly? Kouji couldn't have said what I'd thought he said, could he? I searched his expression, looking for some vestige of the indifference I knew had to be there. All I could find shining from his eyes was deep-set pity…and regret.

I was stunned, unable to understand why he was apologizing to me. "What…?"

For some reason, Kouji couldn't meet my gaze. His eyes were shifting all over the place, looking everywhere but in my direction. I had never seen my brother act like this, not once. He was always sure of himself, always knowing what he was doing. Now, though, he seemed pathetically unsure of what he should do next. "He…ed m…" I had to strain my ears to catch Kouji's nearly inaudible words. "My brother…hates me…"

Hate him? He thought _I_ hated _him_? I wanted to laugh, it was so ridiculous. I didn't hate Kouji. Now that I was thinking rationally, the vengeful and bitter feelings I'd harbored toward my brother had been snuffed out. After all, we were twins, blood kin. That bond meant more to me than he knew.

I wanted to tell him this, but a new voice interrupted me. "Hello there!"

Suddenly there was what I can only describe as a flying hamster hovering right in my face, flapping its wings rapidly as if it hadn't quite gained full control of them. The next thing I knew, it was launching its little orange and white body at my chest, leaving me no choice but to catch it in my grip. I held the small hamster-bat gingerly in my arms, not wanting to squeeze it too tightly. It was smiling up at my bewildered face, its big blue eyes shining with naïve happiness. The pink band around its waist jiggled as it nestled into my grip, almost as if it enjoyed resting in the crook of my arms. "Hi Kouichi!" it said in the same cheerful voice as before. "My name's Patamon! I'm glad you're feeling better now."

I didn't even have time to be surprised before I felt Patamon being tugged from my grip. "Patamon, my boy, come back to your papa now!" Another strange creature, this one resembling a small white gnome, had taken hold of Patamon's back legs and was trying to wrench him from my grip. He seemed concerned for the small creature and, not wanting to cause trouble, I released my hold on the hamster-bat. I hadn't thought this through very well, since as soon as I let go the gnome fell backwards, slamming right into a tall, yellow, pants-wearing rabbit standing behind him. The three Digimon ended up tangled into a heap on the ground, the white gnome shouting a string of insults at the rabbit.

I felt completely mortified. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to knock you down!" Reaching out my hand, I tried to help the belt-wearing gnome to his feet. "Here, let me—"

"Don't touch me!" The gnome slapped my hand away as soon as he noticed me reaching toward him. I quickly retracted my arm, lowering my eyes before I saw it. But it was too late. I'd seen the suspicion in the Digimon's gaze. He didn't trust me, not after all I'd done to his kind. And, I realized, all I'd tried to do to Patamon. "I…I mean…" He tried to cover his outburst when he noticed the hurt that was surely shining from my eyes like a beacon.

Luckily for him, the sound of a train whistle suddenly blared across the flat ground, capturing all of our attention. In the distance, I could make out the shape of a train approaching on the horizon. A Trailmon, from the strangely angled shape of it. My confusion rose as the train Digimon continued along the tracks that would pass by just half a mile from where we stood. I knew what Trailmon were, so that wasn't the issue. I just hadn't ever seen a Trailmon crossing through the Dark Continent before. It wasn't exactly a great travel destination. This one, however, looked to be on a mission from the fast pace at which it drove.

The closer the Trailmon came, the more I began to notice three figures sitting atop it. There was one pink-clad figure with long blonde hair that trailed behind her in the wind. Next to her was a slightly more pudgy person (_JP:_ …Pudgy?) dressed all in blue. Barely poking his head out from the compartment in which they all sat was a child with some bulbous orange thing sitting on his head. (_Tommy:_ …Bulbous?) Despite studying them from a distance, I could tell these three were human. I also knew exactly who they were. These were the other children who had found spirits of the Legendary Warriors. These were the ones I'd tried to kill.

"Hey guys, over here!" I froze as the goggle-headed kid started calling out to his friends, having realized who they were an instant after me. Smiles lit up the three kids' faces, and I watched as the blonde one leaned over to say something to the Trailmon. A moment later, the living train was screeching to a halt, sitting a short distance away in order to wait for us. No, in order to wait for Kouji, the goggle-head, and their little Digimon companions.

My eyes widened in fear at the prospect of facing these other kids. Two of them looked about my age, but the little one couldn't have been more than eight or nine. Oh god, I had tried to kill a child! My limbs all felt stiff and rigid at my sides. I couldn't have moved if I'd wanted to. The gnome Digimon was already heading toward the Trailmon, giving me nervous glances as he attempted to stuff Patamon into his waistband. (I don't even want to know…) The rabbit Digimon followed close behind.

Not wanting to endure the cold scrutiny of the gnome's eyes anymore, I forced myself to turn and look at something other than the not-so-distant Trailmon. Kouji was standing in the same spot as before, staring at me with a hesitant look on his face. When he noticed my eyes on him, he quickly diverted his attention to the Trailmon carrying his friends. Then he glanced back at me, then again at the Trailmon. I was stunned. Kouji felt caught between his friends and me, probably having realized I didn't want to face them yet.

I sighed, knowing I'd have to get this introduction over with sooner or later, and it might as well be sooner. If fear had gotten me into this mess, then courage would get me back out. So I took several steps toward my brother, attempting to close the distance between us. His eyes were trained on me now, wondering what I was about to do. Feeling a sudden flash of embarrassment, I lowered my head and mumbled, "Um…I think your friends are…waiting…"

Kouji didn't say anything, and I was too self-conscious to meet his eyes again, so I repeated myself in a louder voice. "Your friends…I think they're waiting for you. We should go…"

This time, Kouji got my message. "Oh…right," he muttered awkwardly. I could just imagine him staring at his feet, too. Neither of us felt comfortable around the other, causing my heart to sink even lower. This was what it would be like from now on, huh? These uncomfortable feelings would never cease, not with the wall I'd single-handedly built between us.

"Kouji, other Kouji, you coming?" I nearly jumped out of my skin when the goggle-headed kid snuck up behind me, asking this in a rather loud voice. Kouji wasn't stunned, since not much seemed to faze him. Except for me.

After I'd gotten my heart rate down, I noticed that the goggle-head (I really needed to learn his name…) was snickering behind me, while Kouji rolled his eyes in an exaggerated fashion. I realized then that what the goggle-head had said was sort of humorous. I guess my comedic timing had been a little off. Still, this also meant that I hadn't yet introduced myself to my brother's companion, since he hadn't used my name.

"I'm Kouichi," I said quietly, killing the jovial mood in one swift blow.

The goggle-head gave me a surprised look. My guess was that he hadn't expected me to respond to his joke. However, he quickly recovered the grin he'd worn before. "Kouichi, huh?" Suddenly, my hand was gripped tightly between the goggle-head's gloved ones as he shook it up and down. He was giving me a handshake.

"Nice to meet you, Kouichi," he said, sounding as if he actually meant it. His brown eyes held no trace of anger or doubt. His smile was warm and kind. He radiated friendliness like the sun radiated heat. In my peripheral vision, I noticed Kouji giving the goggle-head a warning look, but his caution wasn't needed. I was too stunned to feel frightened of this boy, because I realized what he was trying to do. He wanted to be my friend. "My name's Takuya."

—

"Guys, I think there's someone else with Takuya and Kouji."

I glanced up when Tommy said this. A moment before I'd been bent over our seat, once again thanking Angler for all that he was doing, though he had acted like kind of a jerk at first. Tommy's statement, however, brought my attention back to the rapidly approaching figures of our friends. At the moment only Bokomon, Neemon, and Patamon were close enough for us to see clearly. Takuya and Kouji were still too far away, and the dark landscape made it hard to distinguish their shapes. To me, they just looked like a red and blue smudge on the horizon.

JP rolled his eyes at our younger friend. "Yeah kid, I noticed how Taki and Kouji found Bokomon and Neemon. Man, can you believe this? We tell 'em to stay put and they just waltz off…"

"Not them!" Tommy stated, pointing impatiently at the outlines of our friends. "Look close and you can see another person behind Takuya and Kouji."

JP and I did as we were told and looked, though I didn't expect to find anything. It was probably just a trick of the eyes that Tommy was seeing, nothing more than a person-shaped rock on the horizon. I mean, it was unlikely enough that those two had found a friendly Digimon in this dark place, what with all the half-way decent creatures being scared off by Cherubimon's creepy assassin, Duskmon. Ugh, just the thought of him sent shivers up my spine. And how many times now had Kouji fought him solo? It was admirable, Kouji's courage. Very admirable…anyway, it was beyond impossible that there was a person, a human person, wandering around out here. I mean, Ophanimon would never have sent a defenseless human kid here with one of her texts, right?

As I continued to stare, though, Tommy's theory became less and less far-fetched. There was definitely another smudge on the horizon just a short distance behind the Takuya and Kouji smudges. This one was a green and maroon smudge-color, and as it came closer it began to take more and more shape. There were two arms, two legs, one head, no wings, no armor. I glanced at Takuya and Kouji, who had finally come into focus, for comparison. That's when I gasped. It seemed so impossible, so unreal, but I couldn't deny what I was seeing. There was another human following my friends. Not a human type Digimon, but a flesh and blood (well, not at the moment) human. "Oh my god…"

"Got that right," JP muttered breathlessly. He must have come to the same realization as I had. All the three of us could do for a moment was stare, watching the mysterious human trailing behind Takuya and Kouji. I frowned, wondering why they didn't wait for the person to catch up so they could walk together. Or maybe, I realized, this new person didn't want to be near my friends, for whatever reason.

JP was the one to finally break the silence. "I've got to check this out," he said half to himself, lifting both his legs over the side of our perch. "I'm comin' down, Angler!" he added for our Trailmon friend's benefit, since we'd found out while cleaning him that he was the slightest bit ticklish. Still, Angler giggled as JP slid down his shiny surface, landing with a thump next to Bokomon, Neemon, and Patamon, who had already made it to the train.

I was about to follow JP's lead and had already lifted my legs over the edge of our seat when I noticed Tommy. He had risen halfway from his seat and looked as if he wanted to slide down after JP, but his eyes were a little too wide, locked on the hard ground at least 20 feet below. Oh, I knew what was going on. Tommy felt nervous about sliding down Angler. I couldn't help but smile a bit. It was moments like these that reminded me of one easily forgotten fact; Tommy was just a kid. In fact, we were all just kids, but the rest of us were still Tommy's elders. Sometimes we had to be courageous for him.

Gently, I placed my hand on Tommy's shoulder, getting his attention off the ground. He instantly tried to cover up his fear, now that he knew he was being watched. Trying my hardest not to sound patronizing, I nodded toward the ground and said, "C'mon, let's get down there and see what's going on."

Tommy's gaze traveled down to the earth one last time before he turned back to me, his eyes shining with courage. "Yeah!" Without another hint of hesitation, Tommy swung his legs over Angler's side and pushed himself off the edge. I plunged after him, suddenly anxious that he'd fall and hurt himself. My caution wasn't needed, since Tommy made it to the ground just fine. Instead, I was the one that slipped.

I'd been concentrating so much on Tommy that I hadn't realized I was free-falling until I heard JP yell my name. I noticed that I couldn't feel Angler's metal frame behind me just before I hit the ground, landing right on my tailbone. "Ow…" I muttered to myself, knowing I'd be sore for a few days thanks to this. Why couldn't I have been paying more attention?

"Zoe, are you okay…?" Takuya and Kouji rushed forward then to see if I was alright, the mystery person lagging behind them. I noticed, though, that Takuya's question trailed off awkwardly at the end. Then he, as well as the others, all averted their eyes from me as if they were embarrassed.

My eyebrows slowly furrowed as I glared at them, not understanding why they refused to look at me. "What are you guys doing?"

Noticing the anger in my gaze, Takuya turned toward me just long enough to mouth the phrase, "Look down," pointing down at the earth. I looked where he pointed, and as I looked I realized what had made the others so flustered. I was still sitting on my butt with my legs splayed, giving everyone a full view under my skirt.

With a burst of self-conscious adrenaline, I was on my feet, pulling down the end of my skirt as far as it would go. The others were still too embarrassed to look me in the eye, but I was furious nonetheless. Lashing out at Takuya with my humiliated aggression, I hissed, "You could have warned me about my skirt a little earlier, y'know!"

Takuya shot me a look of outrage. "What are you yelling at me for? I'm the one that told you about it!" Looking for someone else to blame, he pointed an accusing finger in JP's direction. "JP would've just left you there so he could enjoy the view as long as possible."

"Hey!" Naturally, now JP was furious. And blushing like crazy. "There's no way I'd take advantage of Zee like that! I happen to respect her!"

"Oh yeah, you sure were 'respecting' her the other night," Takuya retorted, rolling his eyes. "For once, I didn't hear you complain about taking watch, and I think I just figured out why. Got to watch Zoe sleep all night long, didn't ya?"

The red coloration on JP's cheeks deepened. "I-I don't know what the hell you're talking about! I was just doing my part for the team! Besides, who suggested we start taking watches in the first place?"

"Kouji!" Takuya shouted back. Oi, boys.

The fight having moved on to these two, my anger was diffused and I was able to calmly observe my surroundings. Angler was waiting somewhat patiently for us to re-board him, though the sudden argument between us seemed to have irked him. Bokomon and Neemon were standing closer to the Trailmon's side than the rest of us, I noticed, with Patamon squirming in his "papa's" grip. Halfheartedly, Bokomon tried to keep him contained in the safe haven of his belt (if you could call that safe…), his eyes fixed on a point just to my right. I turned, wondering what had captured the book keeper's attention.

That was when I remembered what I'd seen atop Angler. Standing a couple feet behind Kouji was the mysterious person who'd followed my friends here. I couldn't see what this person looked like, since whoever it was seemed to be hiding him or herself behind Kouji in apparent embarrassment. Aw, poor kid! At least, I assumed it was a kid. I had to be sure, though.

As I made a move to glance past Kouji's shoulder for a small peek at the mystery person, I noticed Tommy waltz past Kouji and walk right up to him. Yes, it was a boy, one who looked close to my age. The green jacket and maroon shirt he wore matched the colors of the smudge I'd seen earlier. The boy had dark hair that was short-ish in length, and his eyes were trained on his green sneakers. (_Author's Note:_ Holy crap, I love Kouichi's shoes! I want to steal them! ^_^)

My eyes softened as I looked at this boy. I'd been right about his embarrassment, but that barely seemed to scratch the surface of how he felt in our presence. His hands and knees were shaking, I noticed, almost like he was trying to keep himself from sprinting away as fast as his legs could carry him. But what really captivated my attention were his eyes. Those deep blue orbs shone with a sadness far greater than anything I'd ever seen. I could tell, however, that he was holding a great deal of his pain back in our presence, as evidenced by the teeth biting into his lower lip. His discomfort tugged at my heartstrings, though I had no idea why he should feel so uncomfortable around us. Wasn't it a relief for him to finally find a group of humans in this world?

Tommy, who had been giving the new boy a blank stare up to this point, cocked his head curiously and asked, "Hey, why do you and Kouji look the same?"

The boy jumped when he realized this question had been directed at him, then both he and I shifted our gazes toward Kouji. That was when the similarity finally hit me. This boy did look identical to Kouji in nearly every way. Their hair was the same dark shade of black, their eyes the same navy blue. Their faces, their height, everything about them was similar to the point of being creepy. I mean, Kouji had once told us he didn't have any siblings, so this boy couldn't be his eerily identical brother. If that was the case, who was he?

"I…um…" The boy seemed more uncomfortable now than ever as he shrunk under Tommy's gaze. That's right, he shrunk under the curious eyes of a boy several years younger than himself. That reluctance was what fueled me to intervene.

Without hesitation, I stepped around Kouji and lifted the corners of my mouth into a smile. "Hello!" I greeted the boy cheerfully, though I maintained a slight distance between us so as not to frighten him. So far he seemed as meek as a mouse. However, I did extend my arm toward him, offering a handshake.

He glanced at my outstretched palm, but didn't take the offer. Instead, he murmured a soft, "Hi."

I had to admit, I was disheartened by his reluctance to trust me, but I knew better than to push him. I'd learned not to force myself on others a long time ago…still, he had greeted me, so that must mean I was on the right track. With this in mind, I introduced myself. "My name is Zoe Orimoto, and I guess you kind of met Tommy already."

The boy lifted his head for the first time then, eyes filled with shock as he gazed at me. Was my friendliness such a rarity to this boy that it was cause for surprise? What had happened to this kid so far in this world? Rather than voice these questions, I waited patiently until the boy plucked up the courage to say, "I'm…Kouichi."

"Kouichi…" I muttered the name to myself, noticing the striking similarity it had to "Kouji." "It's nice to meet you, Kouichi."

"Yeah," Tommy added, still looking a bit shy around the older newcomer. But again, his curiosity won out over his caution. "You didn't answer my question, though. How come you and Kouji look so much alike?"

"I'll tell you." Kouji's voice startled me, since I hadn't realized he was now standing behind me. As a result, I shrieked a small, girly, high-pitched shriek that under normal circumstances would have made Kouji smirk. At the moment, he didn't even look capable of a smile. It was odd going from one easily readable face to another that looked so similar, yet held back emotions in a much more expert fashion. But where Kouji was an expert at hiding his feelings, I was an expert at interpreting his true thoughts. And to my surprise, there was one easily distinguishable look on his face. For the first time since I'd met him, Kouji seemed lost.

Glancing at me, he muttered a quick "Sorry" to apologize for startling me, and then turned his attention back to Tommy, skimming completely over Kouichi as if he weren't there. I realized then that Kouji hadn't so much as glanced at Kouichi since they'd arrived, something I found a bit rude. It was no wonder this boy felt so shy around us! Soon, however, I realized that my annoyance was completely off the mark. Taking a deep, steadying breath, Kouji finally said, "Kouichi is my brother."

I guess my assumption had been right after all.

"What?" This exclamation came not just from me, but from Tommy and JP as well. Apparently he and Takuya had ended their debate in order to see what the rest of us were doing. This fact barely held my attention, though, as my thoughts began to spin out of control. Kouji and this new boy, Kouichi…they were brothers? But…that wasn't possible. No, it couldn't be true…could it?

"Okay, hold up," JP declared, pointing an accusing finger at Kouji. "I remember you telling us you were an only child. Now you claim that this guy," here he stuck his thumb in Kouichi's direction, "is your brother?"

I noticed both Kouji and Kouichi flinch under JP's accusations and apparently, so did Takuya. "Relax, buddy," he said in that new calm, mature tone he'd developed after our second face-off against Duskmon. "Kouji didn't lie to us. In fact, he didn't know about Kouichi until a little while ago."

"Didn't know?" Tommy asked, gazing innocently up at Takuya. "How could he not know he had a brother?"

"You tell me." I was about eighty-five percent positive that I heard Kouji mutter this under his breath, his tone soaked with bitterness. On the outside, Kouji's expression remained calm, or at the very least contained. But there was a storm raging inside, that much I could tell. And I wanted to know why.

"Well…" Takuya hesitantly began, glancing at Kouji as if seeking his permission to continue. He nodded once, indicating that Takuya could do as he pleased. And so the story commenced. "Okay, it turns out that Kouji's parents got divorced when he was really little…when _they_ were really little, actually, because Kouichi…well, you know. They were separated after that, and Kouji's dad must have taken him since…he thought his mom was dead."

My eyes widened considerably at that. Kouji had never told us much of anything about himself, but he hadn't even hinted at the fact that his mother was dead. Well, supposedly dead. But wait, if Kouji thought his mom had died, didn't that mean his father had…?

The bitterness Kouji felt suddenly made sense to me. "Their mom took Kouichi," Takuya continued. "Oh, and if you couldn't already tell, these two are twins."

"I never would've guessed," JP muttered sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Anyway," Takuya said, giving JP a quick glare to shut him up, "Kouichi's grandmother passed on a couple weeks ago, and she ended up telling Kouichi about Kouji on her deathbed. After that, he found Kouji's address but couldn't get the nerve to talk to him." Smirking a bit, Takuya glanced at Kouji. "I guess that doesn't surprise me, though. No offense, buddy, but you're pretty intimidating."

Kouji probably would have bit back a retort if he'd been in a better mood. The glare he shot at Takuya was too cold, devoid of its usual bright flare of confidence. Some, if not all the pride had been beaten from his expression, leaving him a frightened child faced with something he had no clue how to handle. I'd witnessed Kouji's vulnerability before, but never at this magnitude. His uncertainty moved me, and I wanted more than anything to comfort him.

Well, there was one thing I wanted even more; to comfort his brother. Whereas Kouji was bobbing up and down in a sea of confusion, Kouichi had already sunk into its depths. Again his eyes were trained on his sneakers, and I could see glistening tears threatening to bead and spill from them. His arms were held rigidly at his sides, fingers balled into fists. He didn't dare look at the rest of us, though I noticed his gaze flit toward Kouji a few times before returning to the ground. Did Kouji really scare him that much? Did we scare him? I didn't understand his discomfort where the rest of us were concerned, but his wariness of Kouji made me a little sad. I don't have any siblings and therefore have no first-hand experience with these matters, but I was sure brothers weren't supposed to act so awkward around one another. Maybe Kouji and Kouichi wouldn't be so uncertain if their parents hadn't lied to them…

Put-out by Kouji's halfhearted response, Takuya just continued the story. "Well, on the day we all came to the Digital World, Kouichi noticed Kouji on the train headed for Shibuya. He tried following him around the station, then caught sight of him on an elevator and tried to get inside. Oh, by the way, sorry if I interfered with that," Takuya mumbled, directing his apology toward Kouichi. I didn't know what he was talking about, and Kouichi didn't respond, so he kept going, "Yeah…he tried to catch the elevator, but he just missed it. So he decided to take the stairs to the basement, since he noticed we were heading down. According to Kouichi, he tripped and fell, then woke up in the Digital World without having a clue how he got here."

He tripped down some stairs and ended up in the Digital World? That seemed a little weird, but I wasn't about to question it. I doubted Kouichi had any reason to lie to us, especially not to Kouji. These two had been fed enough lies to last a lifetime. Besides, Kouichi was biting his lip again. What Takuya was saying had to be true.

"So you guys just found him wandering around out here?" JP asked, gesturing toward Kouichi. Hm, I wondered that, too. How had these guys met up with each other? But JP's question hung in the air for a while after that. Takuya and Kouji seemed reluctant to explain, and not even Bokomon, who loves having all the answers, would join our discussion. In fact, he was still giving Kouichi the same wary look as before, and even Neemon seemed cautious in his presence. What in the world had Kouichi done to frighten them so much, and why weren't Takuya and Kouji telling us the whole story?

I was about to demand an explanation when Kouichi said, probably in the strongest voice he could muster, "I was Duskmon."

—

_I was Duskmon._

I sat alone in the dark train car, staring at the bleak landscape just outside the window. Was everything really this depressingly murky, or was it my own thoughts projecting onto the scenery? Either way, it didn't matter. Nothing much mattered anymore.

Outside, I could see the others clustered in a group, discussing something or other. Kouji wasn't with them, which didn't surprise me. I'd already noticed him head into the train station when Angler (as I understood this Trailmon's name to be) made a pit stop, and he hadn't emerged since. What could he be doing in there? Contemplating more ways in which he'd ruined my life? Ha, as if. It was obvious to everyone that what had happened to me had been done by my own hand. There was no one to blame but me. The book-keeping gnome knew that. Even the others knew it. They'd just been too nice to say it out loud.

So now I knew the names and faces of those I'd wanted to kill. First there was Takuya, whose friendliness had already left its burning imprint on my thoughts; I'd wanted to finish him off first, since he'd been the biggest nuisance. Then came Tommy, the youngest and probably most skittish in my presence; I would have gone for him next, considering him an easy enough target. There was JP, who seemed even more distrustful of me than the gnome; I'd considered him a powerhouse, so killing him would have made an example for the remaining two. Next was Zoe, the one who had approached me with that kind smile on her face; her death would have been swift, since I'd have grown bored at that point. And finally, there was my brother; I'd craved his death more than anything else, so much so that the enmity still ate at the back of my mind, trying to regain a foothold.

_I don't hate Kouji._ Keeping this mantra running through my head helped numb the dark thoughts, but it didn't numb my pain. Nothing could do that now. Those four kids out there…I had been so willing to end their lives…and I was human, just like them.

But the worst part hadn't been facing them, as I'd thought it would be. No, the truly painful experience had been admitting my shame. Now they knew I was a murderer, a monster that had stalked them through this realm of darkness and death, craving their data and spirits.

And what had they done once my tale had been told? Well, of course they'd been shocked. All those wide eyes had been trained on me, trying to fit the timid boy standing before them with the image of Duskmon surely cemented into their memories. It was probably hard to process; I'm not all that intimidating on my own. Never have been. But in this world, things had been different. I had been different, or at least the "me" Cherubimon had crafted was different.

If there was one good thing I'd gained from my time as Duskmon, besides _not_ killing my brother before I had the chance to meet him, it was the ability to be bold. This was something I had never experienced in my own world. As Kouichi Kimura, I was weak, spineless. My opinions always remained unheard, and I never strove for the spotlight of attention. I hadn't even been able to approach Kouji, though I'd had so many opportunities to catch up to him alone. I'd just lacked the courage.

Duskmon hadn't lacked courage. He had been assured, confident, willing to take action. Yes, he had been more cautious than Cherubimon's other followers, but that was what made him so threatening. I could follow you without your knowledge, learn your secrets, then lunge out and attack…

No, that wasn't me now! I'm the one who lacks nerve; the others had been able to see that. But as Takuya took up the mantle of my story, the idea that Duskmon and I had been one became less far-fetched. Tommy had seemed a bit lost in the details, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Duskmon had been _human_ all along. JP, on the other hand, had worn a thoughtful expression, contemplating Takuya's words and finding some real sense in them. As for Zoe, the sympathy never left her gaze.

Zoe Orimoto. For some reason, I'd been more concerned with what she thought of me than the rest. No, maybe it wasn't that surprising. Aside from Takuya, she'd been the first to approach me with anything but suspicion on her face. But already I could tell that she and Takuya were very different. Whereas Takuya's smile was bold and shining, hers was gentle and kind. She hadn't tried to force her friendliness on me, but rather let me open up in my own way to her. I'd never met anyone like that before.

And I had to admit to myself that she was pretty. It was obvious that she had at least some Japanese blood in her, but her hair was a fair shade of blonde, a color I was sure couldn't have been replicated through hair dye. She'd also extended her hand to me without bowing (Takuya had done that too, but I got the feeling that boldness was just in his nature), so I'd come to the conclusion that she was at least partially foreign. Her Japanese seemed fluent, though.

Her eyes, however, had been what really captivated my attention. They were a strange color to begin with, not exactly blue, but not green either. Aquamarine was the best way I could think to describe them, like the color of the ocean in tropical climates. These two shimmering pools had steadily held my gaze once I'd finally gotten the nerve to face her, reflecting my confusion back at me. The fact that she'd introduced herself so cheerfully wasn't surprising. I'd just noticed all the sympathy flooding her expression. She hadn't quite pitied me (not yet, at least), but without words she seemed to be telling me, "It's alright, you're safe with us now. We'll help you." I really, truly wanted to believe that.

But I couldn't believe it, because I wasn't safe with them, nor they with me. I still had that horrible numbness tickling at the back of my mind, trying to coax its way into my thoughts. Cherubimon's hold over me ran deep, despite the purification Kouji's D-Tector had afforded. That was why I felt so anxious as we neared the Rose Morning Star. Sure, I could hate Cherubimon as much as I wanted from here, but once we were in his presence…I honestly didn't know which side I'd be on.

And still these kids continued to accept me. JP's softened skepticism, Tommy's hesitant smile, Takuya's openness…and I could still remember what she'd said, could recall the words with absolute clarity…

_"Kouichi…it's okay. We forgive you."_

Forgive me? After what I did to her, to all of them? Especially to Kouji…how could they just forgive me for all that? No, I didn't deserve a second chance. Couldn't they see that the things I'd done were too awful, too sickening, for them to just excuse?

_Why don't they hate me?_ Again, I felt the tears beading as my gaze traveled down to my feet. The others' infinitely kind faces flashed before my eyes, ending with an image of my brother, so fearful and wary in my presence. _After everything I did…I tried to destroy them._

Another pain shot through my temples, but it was different this time. I felt no darkness-fueled hostility toward the others; rather, this was self-hatred. Grabbing a fistful of hair on either side of my head, I finally allowed the tears to build and gush from my eyes. Why…why had I done this? Why was I such a horribly twisted person? Why couldn't I just disappear…?

"I can't even stand me right now!"

—

"Don't worry, it just takes time," Takuya muttered as we all glanced through the window of the train station, barely able to distinguish Kouichi's form inside one of Angler's darkened cars. I was honestly beginning to worry about him, sitting over there all by himself. He hadn't taken my offer to sit with us, just shook his head and moved to the empty car beside ours. And there he continued to sit, letting guilt eat away at him.

Kouji was in no better shape. "Yeah, but how much time?" he retorted, his expression mellowing after the brief hopefulness that had lit his face during our discussion about siblings. Gazing at his hands, he quietly added, "I can't just sit here and watch him torture himself like this…"

Before I could rush forward and sweep Kouji into the tightest sympathy hug he was likely ever to get, JP spoke, "Honestly, Kouji, I think if you went over there and talked to him, you'd make him feel like an even more vindictive ass."

Kouji, Takuya, Bokomon, and I all shot JP incredulous glares, while Tommy, Patamon, and Neemon didn't seem to understand what the word "vindictive" meant. "Did you just call my brother a vindictive ass?" Kouji asked slowly, rising from his seat and taking a step forward.

JP mirrored this motion, only he stepped back. "Wait, I didn't mean it like that! Ugh, always putting my freakin' foot in my mouth…I meant that Kouichi only did all this because Cherubimon convinced him that you were a terrible person and deserved to be killed. If you go over there now, while he's still shell-shocked from this whole fiasco, and try to help him out, that's only gonna reiterate how stupid his attempt at revenge was, and then he'll _feel_ like a vindictive ass!"

My eyes softened as I found sense in JP's words. He really was a smart guy when he wanted to be, and he always seemed able to get to the heart of the matter. As for me, I let my passion fuel my actions a little too much sometimes. I probably would have pushed for Kouji to go talk to his brother, something JP had already considered and rejected as too risky. After all, we didn't want to upset Kouichi further…

Kouji's anger took a bit longer to diffuse, but I could see his shoulders slumping forward in defeat as he realized the truth in JP's statement. Again, the lost look shown from his eyes, and I noticed he made no attempts to shield it from us. Ever since he'd finally agreed to travel with our group, I'd anxiously awaited the day when Kouji would willingly open up to us, thereby solidifying ourselves as his friends. It looked like that day had come, though not in the way I'd expected. Kouji felt completely helpless, and he'd passed the point of caring that we knew. Then, in a pitifully quiet voice that broke my heart into even smaller pieces, he muttered, "Then what can I do?"

JP didn't appear to have an answer to this question, and neither did Takuya or Tommy. Bokomon was scribbling something in his book, probably trying to distract himself from the conversation, seeing as he wasn't even chastising Neemon for peeking over his shoulder as he wrote. Patamon, on the other hand, was still gazing out the window at Kouichi, a sad little frown on his face.

That did it. I couldn't stand this anymore, watching all this awkward drama play out. If the rest of the guys weren't willing, or were just unable, to take action, then it was up to me to handle this situation. And if Kouji's unhappiness was directly linked with Kouichi's…

"I'll talk to him!" I declared, startling the others from their thoughts.

"Uh, what are you talking about, Zoe?" Takuya asked, apparently so confused by my outburst that he hadn't caught the meaning behind my words.

An excited grin plastered to my face, I explained, "I can talk to Kouichi in place of Kouji! I'm sure that once he gets his thoughts off his chest he'll feel better. Maybe I can even convince him to sit in the same train car with us."

A spark of hopefulness returned to Kouji's eyes, but it was soon snuffed by JP's skepticism. "Like I said, Kouichi is still traumatized because of what he did as Duskmon. To us. It doesn't really matter if it's Kouji that goes to see him or one of us, the results will be the same. He'll feel even worse. The best thing I can think to do is leave him alone for now and—"

"Leave him alone?" I retorted, jabbing a finger at the window. "JP, he is miserable over there, and he's all by himself. What if he thinks we're avoiding him?"

"We are kind of avoiding him…" Takuya mumbled, but a glare from me shut him up pretty quick.

My forcefulness also seemed to be softening JP's defense. "Well…I just don't think we should push him. Let him come to us on his own, y'know?"

Yes, I did know. Nevertheless… "I'm not going to force him into anything. I just want to talk to him and make sure he's okay. Someone has to do at least that."

I don't know if it was the pleading urgency in my words or the wide-eyed look I was giving him, but JP finally held up his hands in defeat. "If you really believe that, then I'm not gonna stop you. Heck, I just don't want all this drama blowing up in everyone's faces."

"Amen to that," Takuya agreed, eliciting a sigh from the both of them.

More may have been said, but my full attention had shifted to Kouji. To my relief and pleasure, now that it seemed his brother would soon be getting the attention he needed, Kouji's face lit up with optimism. This surprised even me, since Kouji is our group's self-proclaimed cynic. At the moment, though, he couldn't seem to erase the hope from his expression.

Finally noticing my gaze on him, Kouji lifted his head until we stood eye-to-eye. Then, in that rarely-seen gentle way he had buried deep inside, Kouji gave me a smile. It wasn't the first smile he'd ever given me, but this particular one held something I'd never really noticed before, or maybe I just hadn't been able to put it into words. At that moment, I realized how truly perfect Kouji is for the Spirits of Light; within his prickly exterior was the strong, protective, kind boy I had come to know bit-by-bit, and it had to be this inner light that resonated so deeply with Lobomon's spirits. Maybe Kouji tries to hide his better qualities from the people around him, but nonetheless, he shines.

"Um, Zoe?" Kouji's smile turned to a look of puzzlement, probably because I had a stupid spaced-out look on my face.

"I'm fine!" I mumbled, trying to contain a blush of embarrassment as I composed myself. Then, returning his earlier smile with one of my own, I said, "Don't worry, Kouji. I promise that I'll help your brother in any way that I can. We all will."

Kouji seemed surprised for a moment, but the doubt was soon erased from his eyes by his belief in my words. It had taken some time, but I, along with the others, had finally earned Kouji's trust. Now it was time to prove that his faith wasn't in vain. "Thank you, Zoe."

—

And so, several minutes later (a.k.a. after Takuya and JP had tried to school me on the "proper" way to talk to a dejected guy…again, oi), I found myself standing a few feet away from the entrance to Angler's darkened car, within which sat Kouichi. Up to this point, I'd been exuding total confidence in my ability to comfort Kouji's brother, but now that the actual task was ahead of me, I wasn't so sure of myself anymore. What if I did screw this up and Kouichi retreated even farther away from us, just as JP had predicted? And what was I supposed to say to him, anyway? _"Kouichi, I know you feel bad about being manipulated into attacking us and trying to kill your long-lost twin brother, but that's life, y'know?"_

Yeah, that probably wouldn't work out too well.

I glanced back at the train station, wondering if it was too late to turn tail and run for it. What I saw in the window, however, made me smirk. The tops of my friends' heads, along with the heads of our digital companions, were just peaking over the edge of the windowsill, and I could see their eyes trained on me. Even Kouji had joined in this bad impression of a group of spies, causing a small chuckle to burst from my throat. No matter what, the guys always knew how to cheer me up. Hopefully I could do the same with Kouichi.

With my newfound confidence spurring me on, I took a deep breath, assured myself once more that I could do this, and stepped toward Angler's car, pausing once at the stairs to peer into the dark space beyond. All I could see from there was more of the same; Kouichi was definitely inside the car, but I couldn't tell specifically what state he was in, whether he was still silently brooding or…worse.

This thought led me to such troubling conclusions that I stepped into the train car with almost no conscious effort, my imagination causing my worry for Kouichi's well-being to increase. In a way, my paranoia had been completely on the mark.

Kouichi was miserable. That was the first thing I noticed as my eyes adjusted to the dark. He was sitting in the same spot as before, and in almost the same position. But instead of his arms resting against his knees as he stared despondently at the floor, he had his head clutched firmly between his hands, his fingers no doubt digging painfully into his skull. His face was completely hidden from my view, so I couldn't be sure, but from the tremors I saw coursing through his frame, I didn't doubt that he was crying.

Just as I was starting to regret barging in on his privacy, I heard Kouichi take several shuddering breaths, followed by some faint whimpering noises. He wasn't just crying, he was full-on sobbing. My feet were still turned toward the exit, but I remained where I stood, knowing that I couldn't leave Kouichi like this. Perhaps it would be rude to interrupt such a private moment, but his grief was so poignant that I took a step toward him, then another, then another, until I was standing above the guilt-stricken boy, gazing piteously at the top of his head.

We stayed like that for several minutes, me standing watch over Kouichi without his notice. I wasn't entirely sure what I should do now that I'd gotten myself into this predicament. I couldn't just interrupt Kouichi's moment, but I also couldn't leave him alone. This paradox kept me frozen in place as I watched the poor boy's tears fall to the floor, almost reminding me of rain. Ugh, and that reminded me of Ranamon, which reminded me of the four Legendary Warriors we'd defeated, which reminded me…

"…ry."

Thankfully, Kouichi didn't notice me jump when he suddenly mumbled something to himself through his tears. I hadn't caught what he'd said the first time, but he soon spoke again. "I'm sorry."

Kouichi continued to repeat this phrase like some demented mantra, and each time he did, a little more of my self-control was chipped away. This boy, Kouji's brother…no, even more than that! He was the newest member of our group, an ally, a friend. And how had we welcomed him into our ranks? We'd awkwardly avoided him, allowing his guilt to progress to such a level that he was spitting out apologies to no one at all, just to get the words out there. I could hear the desperation in his voice, like he'd already given up on befriending the rest of us, but still held a tiny bit of hope that his actions were forgivable in our eyes.

"…I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"

"Don't be."

Kouichi's head shot up at the sound of my voice, surprising me as well. I hadn't meant to say that out loud, but it was too late. I'd been caught.

Not surprisingly, Kouichi was shocked by my presence. Like a wounded animal, he pressed himself against his seat, feeling cornered despite my taking several steps back to give him space. His limbs went rigid as boards, though he couldn't seem to decrease the trembling caused by his sobs. These continued to wrack his body, and because of this he clamped a hand over his mouth to dampen the whimpering. Tears streamed from his red-rimmed eyes; he couldn't control this outpouring of emotion either.

After his initial fright had passed, Kouichi began to grow embarrassed. Either due to the fact that he has a Y chromosome (pretty rare to catch a guy crying) or he'd just been thrown off by my sudden disturbance, his cheeks went from pale to red in a remarkably short amount of time. In fact, he was so overcome by embarrassment that he couldn't bring himself to face me anymore, and instead cupped his burning face in his hands.

I wanted to say something, but I figured "sorry" had become a moot point. Not knowing what else to do, I took a seat next to Kouichi, making sure to put plenty of space between us. The train car remained relatively silent for the next few minutes as Kouichi tried to calm himself down. I spent this time chastising myself.

_Oh, look what you've done now, Zoe!_ I wanted to bang my head against a wall, I felt like such an idiot. Here I was again, just blurting out whatever the hell came to my mind. No tact, no grace, no eloquence. And I'd made things even worse! Now Kouichi was depressed _and_ humiliated, all because I couldn't keep my stupid mouth shut! How could I possibly tell the others what I'd done? How could I face Kouji after letting him down like this?

All this passed through my mind while staring at the floor of the train, so it took me about another minute to realize that Kouichi's sobs had ceased. Chancing a glance in his direction, my eyes met and held his curious gaze for the briefest of seconds, until he realized that I had caught him staring. He quickly turned his face away from mine, and a pinkish color rose to his cheeks as he proceeded to apologize. "I-I'm sorry…I didn't mean to…"

Again, I felt a tightening of guilt in my own chest, and my response to Kouichi's words was just as ill-timed and stupid as before. "Why are you apologizing to me? You didn't do anything wrong!"

Kouichi flinched in response to my words, and I saw another apology begin to form on his lips before dying away into silence. I instantly regretted my harsher-than-necessary tone when I noticed my companion's discomfort, so I desperately racked my brains for a topic to clear the air between us. I'd screwed things up so badly that nothing came easily to mind. Finally, I resolved to try and start this entire conversation over with the question, "So, what's your surname?"

"What?" Kouichi seemed so surprised by my question that he turned to face me again, eyes wide and, I noticed, slightly wary. He really didn't trust us, did he?

Well, I'd just have to earn his trust. Smiling sheepishly, I repeated my question. "You know, your family name? When you introduced yourself earlier, you only told me your given name, and since you and Kouji were separated, I figured your surname wasn't Minamoto, so…"

I let my sentence drift off, patiently awaiting a response from my companion. Kouichi stared at me for a long time, and contrary to what I'd observed as his norm, his expression was unfathomable. Finally, a noticeable similarity between him and Kouji, aside from their looks. Like Kouji, it seemed as if Kouichi wasn't an outwardly emotional person, though concealing how he felt didn't seem as natural for him as it did for Kouji. Putting on a stoic, prideful mask was a simple trick for his brother to accomplish. But for Kouichi, I couldn't help getting the feeling that he was a really terrible liar.

That's how I knew I could trust in the truthfulness of his answer when he said, "Kouichi Kimura. That's my full name." After a pause, he added, "And you're Zoe Orimoto."

"You remembered! Good job!" I said this in a sugary, over-the-top cheerleader-ish voice, but I really was happy that Kouichi had remembered my name. I was even happier to see a smile briefly flash across his face in response to my hyper energy.

Well, now that I'd managed to lighten the mood a little, how should I proceed? JP had been right; this was a precarious situation. If I did or said one thing wrong from this point on, I could send Kouichi into another fit of depression. Either that, or he'd completely lose his already shaky trust in the rest of us. Oi vey, why had I signed up for this again?

As I wracked my brains for a new topic of conversation, I noticed Kouichi staring at me again from the corner of my eye. He was trying to be subtle about it, and it worked; I didn't feel threatened or uncomfortable under his passive gaze. His eyes didn't seem to cut through me like Kouji's fiercer stare. Of course, I'd realized by now that almost all Kouichi's expressions and gestures were more understated and patient than his brother's. In fact, it was getting harder and harder to compare them the more I learned about Kouichi. It was strange that they could look so similar and have such different personalities.

I was so lost in these thoughts that I almost didn't catch Kouichi's muttered question. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

I raised my head at the same time that Kouichi lowered his, shielding his expression from my view. This, coupled with the question he'd asked, sparked my already great concern for him into a wildfire burning deep in my chest. "Why shouldn't I be nice to you?"

In response to my inquiry, Kouichi let out a bitter chuckle. "Why shouldn't you be nice? Oh, I don't know, maybe because I tried to kill you?"

Kouichi's voice shook slightly as he said this, as if he were trying to hold back another burst of tears in my presence. I still couldn't see his face, but picturing the hopeless expression he'd worn earlier, when he'd confessed to being Duskmon, was enough to make me want to smack the poor, confused boy upside the head to snap him out of his rut. Restraining my more violent impulses, I said, "I told you this earlier, didn't I? We forgive you for what you did as Duskmon. After all, Cherubimon was the one controlling your actions. Heck, it could have happened to any of us."

Kouichi shook his head back and forth. "No, it couldn't have happened to anyone else. Cherubimon wouldn't have gotten to Kouji, Takuya, Tommy, JP…and he definitely wouldn't have gotten to you. I'm the one who…. Never mind. It isn't important."

"If you think it's important, then it is important," I retorted firmly, my stare boring into the back of Kouichi's head until he had no choice but to look at me. As his eyes traveled up to meet mine, I could see the surprise in his expression. My guess was that he wasn't used to voicing his thoughts, at least not in public, and that his opinion was never asked for, anyway. Well, I did value his opinion, and I didn't intend to give up without hearing what Kouichi had to say. "Please, just tell me what's wrong, Kouichi. You can trust me."

It took a significantly shorter amount of time than before, I noticed, for Kouichi to gather his courage and respond, "You've probably noticed this by now, but I'm not that…talkative, I guess you'd call it. I'm not very good at…expressing myself. Back in our world, I was absolutely terrified of Kouji, not really because I thought he was intimidating, but because I didn't know how he'd react if I told him the truth. Every time I tried to talk to him, my throat would close up on me and I couldn't say a word. I guess I'm always like that, always afraid of the worst case scenario, because I convince myself that it's the only possible scenario. I get myself so nervous, and then I bottle everything up. It…it's just so frustrating! I hate myself for being like this, for being so easily manipulated by Cherubimon. I'm such an idiot…"

Instead of giving Kouichi some comforting words or a kind gesture, I sighed. "I think I understand where you're coming from."

"Hm?" Kouichi cocked his head curiously, no doubt glad that I'd moved the spotlight away from him for the time being. His cheeks were pink again; my guess was that he hadn't meant to share so much with me. I was glad that he had, though, and felt it was time for me to return the favor and reveal my own conflicted thoughts.

"Everyone has something about themselves that they hate," I began with a smirk, causing Kouichi's cheeks to redden in embarrassment. "Yeah, maybe my problems aren't exactly the same as yours. I've been told on more than one occasion how outspoken I am. In fact, I'd never had problems talking with people and making friends…up until a few years ago, when my family moved from Italy to Japan. Explains the hair, doesn't it?"

I took a strand of my blond hair and twisted it absently between my fingers as I continued, "Some of the kids in my new school…well, I guess you could say they've had a hard time warming up to me. At first I just blamed the culture barrier, but now I'm not so sure that's the problem. The other girls in my class ignore me on a frequent basis, yet they always have the forethought to whisper a rude comment just loud enough for me to hear when I enter a room, or they feel the need to stick thumbtacks in my shoes, or perform any other sort of nasty prank. Well, not the whole class. It really isn't a big group that picks on me, only a few stuck-up girls with nothing better to do, and it isn't their teasing that actually bothers me; it's everyone else's reaction."

As I told my story, I noticed Kouichi inching slowly closer to me on Angler's bench, seeming so focused on my words that I'd guess he was only half-aware of what he was doing. I inched toward him too, preferring closer seating arrangements for our rather personal topics of conversation. "The rest of the class isn't exactly mean to me, it's just…it almost seems like they're taking what those other bitches say to heart." I almost growled the last part, my hand slowly clenching into a fist in my lap as the unfairness of my situation once again clouded my thoughts.

"After getting over their fascination with my foreignness, everyone started to avoid me. I'd tried to be as friendly as I could, but not a single person in my class, no one in the entire school, would give me a chance. Even though I knew getting angry wouldn't solve my problems, I couldn't help it; I was furious. So, after giving up all attempts at getting along with the other students, imagine my surprise when, on a school camping trip, one girl actually invited me to eat with her group. I spent the rest of that day imagining all the exciting possibilities, thinking I had finally found a friend. But when I went to look for her that evening, I found her sitting with the very girls who had started tormenting me in the first place.

"Still, I thought it wouldn't matter, as long as I had my new friend to back me up. Together, I was sure we'd be able to change their opinions about me. Call me naïve, but I really thought it would be that simple to stop the teasing. I should have known better when I spotted those girls, but my spirits lifted as my friend motioned me toward them, and I took a confident step forward, believing that everything would work out fine. Then the other girls threatened to leave if I sat with them, insulting me and laughing at me. Their words didn't affect me anymore, but my new friend's smile wavered when she realized what a misfit I really was. I guess I should have mentioned this before, but this girl was a new student in our class when all this happened, and she'd only heard rumors about me until we actually met. It probably hadn't dawned on her that I wasn't shunned so much for my personality, but for what made me who I was, my heritage.

"So she made up some hasty excuse about her group using all their pots and pans, telling me I should sit with my own group." I smirked then, in a bitter sort of way. "You know what I called her then? A liar. I yelled it right there, in the middle of everyone, putting all my anger and frustration into insulting the only person in my new home who had ever tried to befriend me. I hate to say that, for a moment, I was satisfied to see tears welling up in her eyes. But before she turned and ran, she said something that still haunts me, even now. She told me that she was sorry.

"And that's what really kills me," I confessed, staring at the knuckles of my hands as they turned white against the strain of my muscles. "She wasn't trying to be mean, she really had been sorry for all the crap I was put through, and I don't doubt now that she did want to get to know me. But because of my stupid anger and distrust, I screwed it all up. I lumped her into the same package as my tormentors, even though she'd been nothing but kind to me. I let a friend slip through my fingers that day…but I won't let it happen again. Ranamon was wrong about me…"

"Is that what Ranamon made you see?" I jumped, startled out of my thoughts by Kouichi's inquiry. With another jolt, I realized that my comment about Ranamon hadn't stayed internal, as I'd meant it to be.

"How do you know about my fight with Ranamon?" I asked him in return, remembering that Duskmon hadn't revealed himself during our Sakkakumon showdown until after I'd gotten out. He also hadn't forced his way inside the spheres before he'd seen Kouji.

Kouichi seemed a little uncomfortable delving into his memories as Cherubimon's assassin, but he nonetheless replied, "I got to the area where Sakkakumon was keeping all of you in time to see your fight. I…I guess I was somehow able to see through his spheres and watch what was going on inside."

"That's probably because of all the creeptastic eyeballs covering Duskmon," I said with a smirk. To my disappointment, Kouichi didn't even attempt to return the smile.

"I knew what Ranamon had planned for you," he continued, his eyes clouding with pain as he dug deeper into the past. "I stumbled across her and Mercurymon while they were making their plans to trap you. She said…she said that she wanted to teach you a lesson, that you were too stuck-up for your own good. Of course, I didn't care enough at the time to stop them. It didn't matter what happened to any of you, as long as they left Kouji to me…"

In the brief pause after this statement, Kouichi squeezed his eyes shut, almost as if he were trying to escape his unpleasant resurgence of memory. I was about to suggest we move on to a different topic when he said, "I remember thinking you'd never be able to withstand her. At the time, you all seemed so weak to me, and I was sure that even a Digimon like Ranamon would defeat you with a trick like hers up her sleeve.

"But you surprised me." It was my turn to blush when, for the first time since meeting him, Kouichi gave me a full, genuine smile. In that moment, I knew that I'd somehow been able to break through his barrier, if only for a second, and get a peak at what was hiding underneath his quiet façade. He seemed to realize what kind of affect his openness had on me, so his embarrassment returned moments later, and he again shielded his face from my view. "I-I mean, it isn't surprising now that I've met you. In fact, I'm impressed that you beat Ranamon singled-handedly…n-not that there was any doubt you would! Oh boy…"

I couldn't help but chuckle as Kouichi stumbled over his words. "You know, I surprised myself during that fight. But your compliment means a lot to me. Thank you."

Kouichi's eyes darted toward me before his gaze traveled back down to his lap. "You're welcome."

At this point, I was absolutely beaming at Kouichi, feeling the warmth of his compliments rush through me like heat from a campfire. Truthfully, I'd never told that story to anyone, not even the guys, and I'd been a little anxious about how other people would take it. But I should have known not to be worried about that around Kouichi. We had only known each other for less than a day, and already I felt I could share anything with him without fear of being judged. That just seemed to be the kind of person he was. And now, ironically, he had been the one to cheer me up instead of the other way around. But he had given me an idea about how to do the same for him. "You know, now that I've met you, I can see why Cherubimon chose you to wield the Spirits of Darkness."

As I expected, a bitter smile rose slowly to Kouichi's lips once that statement was out of my mouth. "I see. So you _can_ tell what a monster I am…"

"That's not what I mean," I retorted firmly, placing a hand on his shoulder to grab his full attention. "After seeing some of the things this continent has to offer, I'm convinced that darkness can't be as horrible as it's always made out to be, and you are one perfect example of darkness gone right."

Kouichi shot me a critical look. "How does trying to kill you make my actions 'right'?"

"It was Cherubimon's influence that caused all of that," I said, dismissing his argument without much thought. "What I'm talking about is the strength you have inside you."

If Kouichi seemed confused before, he was totally shocked now. "Strength?"

I nodded, excited that I finally seemed to be getting somewhere with him. "Of course! At first glance, to be brutally honest with you, you seem mild and unimposing. But, even though we just met, I feel like I can see you now, Kouichi, and let me say that the person sitting beside me is the farthest thing from Duskmon I could ever imagine. I can tell just by looking that you have so much untapped potential inside you, so much good you're capable of doing. That's exactly what I imagine darkness to be like. So please, don't ever think you're a monster because of your link to darkness, and don't think that anyone hates you because of it. In fact, I can say without a doubt that not only do I not hate you; I like you."

I'd expected a pair of awestruck blue eyes to be staring back at me after that, so when Kouichi's features hardened into a blank expression, it was my turn to be shocked. Gently, he lifted my hand off his shoulder and placed it on my lap, at the same time turning his head away from me. "I think you should go," he said a moment later, in a monotone.

Oh no, now I'd gone too far! "Wait, Kouichi, I wasn't trying to—"

"I know what you're trying to do, and I appreciate it," Kouichi interrupted, flashing a mechanical smile my way to release some of the tension building in the train car. It wasn't working well, and he quickly gave up on the attempt. "I…I'm trying, okay? Just give me a little more time."

With Kouichi's mention of time, I was suddenly reminded who I'd done this for in the first place. As I rose from my seat in order to take my leave, I said, "Try not to take too long, okay? Kouji's pretty worried about you."

Kouichi didn't respond to my words, didn't even look up to acknowledge me, and I took this as a sign to leave. So, with a heavy heart, I trudged toward the door to the train car, feeling as if I'd failed my friends, failed Kouji…but especially failed Kouichi. To think I'd gotten so close, only to somehow provoke his melancholy and push him back into brooding. He'd never trust us now, never come out of his shell, and it would be my fault…

"I…"

I paused in the exit of the train car, one foot dangling in the air outside. Pulling it back in, I turned toward Kouichi, whose face was downturned, completely hidden from view. But I knew I'd heard his voice. There was something he still wanted to say. A faint hope bubbled inside me as I replied, "Yes, Kouichi? What is it?"

I stood there in the aisle of Angler's car for what felt like ages. In fact, I'd seriously doubted Kouichi had said anything, that his voice had been a product of my guilty conscience, when he blurted in a slightly hesitant way, "I…I like you, too…"

For at least ten seconds after that, I was immobilized with shock. Feeling a blush creeping across my cheeks, I eventually lifted my hands to cover my face, though it wasn't really necessary to hide my embarrassment. Kouichi hadn't lifted his head, and after what he'd just told me, I could understand why.

But really, his statement shouldn't have affected me as much as it did. All he'd said was "I like you." By all accounts, it was a harmless group of words. It wasn't like he was professing his love to me or anything. Heck, I'd even told him the same thing not five minutes earlier! So why did I feel as if a huge milestone had been crossed in my newfound companionship with Kouichi? It took less than a second for me to realize the significance of Kouichi's words; he'd never said that to anyone else before.

Obviously, Kouichi cared about his mother, along with any other unnamed family he had. He cared about Kouji, and maybe he even felt a twinge of affection for his father, or at least the weight that man's title held in the context of his life. But what about his classmates, his neighbors, his friends? Looking back on the cautious way he'd dealt with my intrusion, a horrible, yet entirely possible, thought entered my mind. Did Kouichi not have any friends? I mean, he'd come out and admitted he was shy, but…could he really have no friends because of this?

I knew what it felt like to be friendless. I'd been living in a companion-free bubble since my family had moved to Japan. Still, I'd had friends in Italy. Whenever I'd felt loneliness creeping in on me, I'd sifted through my old contacts, reconnecting with the friendships I'd managed to maintain over the course of the move. But Kouichi…he'd never had a good friend in his life, had he?

That was why he'd pushed me away so suddenly. When I'd offered my friendship to him in such a bold way, he hadn't known how to react. It had scared him to know that someone outside his family wanted to connect with him in a meaningful way, and he'd rejected me at first. Now, it seemed as if he'd changed his mind. As he'd said, he liked me, too.

A smile rose to my lips, and I had to stifle a bemused chuckle. I guess I hadn't failed after all. Kouichi had put his trust in my hands. It was my job not to let him down. "Thank you, Kouichi."

With that, I turned and stepped down from the train car, feeling a sense of pride and accomplishment flowing through me. After our talk, I was positive that Kouichi would be alright. More importantly, I could now call him my friend.

—

"Thank you, Kouichi."

I held my breath, listening as Zoe's footsteps grew fainter, eventually ending with the click of a closed door. Only then did I know I was safe.

"Oh, why did I do that?" I asked myself aloud, cupping my burning face in my hands. I'd known my cheeks would turn bright red after saying _that_ to her, so I hadn't found the courage to look up and gauge her reaction to my words. No doubt she'd take my embarrassment for something it wasn't, especially after my telling her I…_liked_ her.

_I like you, too._ I hadn't just said that to be nice. If I was being completely honest with myself, I probably liked Zoe more than I should. We'd just met, after all. My heart shouldn't still be pounding in my chest, even after she'd gone.

But she had given me a shock when she'd said that. _I like you_. It seemed to be such an innocent phrase in her mind, something she could easily tell anyone. To me, it was much less harmless. Those words combined were a powerful force, not quite at the level of "love," but powerful nonetheless.

Why had Zoe gone out of her way just to talk to me? Why did she seem so interested in what I, of all people, was thinking? Avoiding the others was like a personal punishment, because I knew I didn't deserve their kindness after what I'd done. But I guess Zoe didn't agree with my sentiment. In fact, she seemed strangely fascinated by my every gesture. I'd noticed her shooting contemplative glances my way throughout our conversation, and even now her behavior confused me. I wasn't interesting enough to be worth much of her time, so why had she bothered? Because I was a newcomer? Because I was Kouji's brother?

No matter how hard I wracked my brains, I couldn't come up with a conclusive answer. Zoe's actions remained a mystery to me, but I hadn't disliked her company. In fact, among my brother's group of friends, I was glad she'd been the one to check on me. I guess that I felt…comfortable in her presence. I wouldn't have gone into such personal detail about my past with any of the others, not even Kouji. _Especially not Kouji…._ But Zoe was different. The gentle way in which she'd spoken to me, laced by the firmness of her requests, had broken any barrier I'd tried to place between us. She had determination, and she held herself with confidence. I couldn't help but admire that, couldn't help but trust it. Yes, I trusted Zoe.

Yet I'd told her to leave, and with good reason. It didn't matter that I wished she was still sitting with me, telling me more about herself. Now that I'd gotten a taste of her company, I realized that I did want to know Zoe better. But it was for her good that I'd told her to leave. People like her, no matter their good intentions, shouldn't be forced upon people like me. Zoe, from my limited observation, appeared to be a social butterfly at heart. Yes, she'd told me about her classmates' standoffishness, but I could easily attribute that to Zoe's slightly brash personality scaring them off. (She is Italian, after all…) If she could give those other girls a little more time and patience, I knew they'd come around.

I, on the other hand, can barely strike a conversation with a stranger without my effort falling to awkward pieces. The only thing I could ever do for her is hold her back. She'd rather be with her other friends, like Takuya, or JP, or…

_Try not to take too long, okay? Kouji's pretty worried about you._

That's right. Zoe had mentioned my brother before she'd left. I'd been too preoccupied with other thoughts at the time, but now I gave this statement my full attention. Kouji was worried…about me? Was that why he'd gone off by himself when we'd stopped? This behavior didn't seem to fit the picture I'd been holding of Kouji in my mind for the past few weeks. I'd considered Kouji, not exactly my polar opposite, but different from me in several key ways. He didn't lack confidence, wasn't afraid to do what had to be done. If he was so worried about me, why hadn't he come and talked to me himself?

His earlier actions gave me the answer I needed. From the beginning, I had prejudged my brother to be a person that he didn't actually appear to be. He still had the ability to follow through on tough decisions. He'd saved me from Duskmon, after all. But the confidence I'd seen in him before, the self-assurance; was it all an act? He had looked so confused before, so hesitant about how to handle me. I'd given him a lot to take in, but I hadn't anticipated this reaction from him, not in a million years.

And then it came to me. He had sent Zoe in here for him, to see how I was doing. Well, maybe it had been Zoe's decision as well, but still, this was one thing that Kouji felt he couldn't do for himself. I hadn't known what to say to my brother back in our world, and now it seemed he didn't know what to say to me. But the fact that he was worried at all made me…

No, I wasn't happy about it. Kouji couldn't afford to have his attention compromised by me, not now. There was still a battle to be fought, and if his focus wavered while fighting Cherubimon…if he got hurt, really hurt, because of me…

If we'd still been in our world, I'd have wanted to run, to get away from Cherubimon, this anxiety, and especially this belief that everything, _everything_, was my fault. I'd have kept running and not looked back, thinking that my presence wouldn't be missed, that it would be better for Kouji, for Zoe, for everyone, if I was no longer there to worry over. But I'd learned something in the Digital World. There are some things that you shouldn't run from, and this was clearly one of those things. I'd helped Cherubimon destroy this world; even without a Spirit, I had a responsibility to fix things here in any way I could.

I also had a responsibility to Kouji, as his brother. In fact, I was his older brother. I was sure that he could take care of himself in most matters, but I couldn't seem to erase the image of his expression when he'd looked at me before. That look had been telling. Maybe I was wrong to assume this, as I'd been wrong in my earlier assumptions, but Kouji didn't seem as strong as I'd thought he was. Sometimes, even he needed help and, being his twin, it was my duty to provide that help.

But how? I still didn't have the courage to face him again, and I couldn't exactly assure him that I was okay if I didn't talk to him. Not only that, I couldn't even look out for him in a fight, at least not the fights in this world. Even with Duskmon's spirit, I'd be no match for Cherubimon. So how did Kouji, Zoe, and the others stand a chance against him? How could I make sure they stayed safe without a means to fight? How could I stand up to Cherubimon in my pathetic state?

I needed a miracle.

—

_madjack89:_ And there you have it!

_Zoe:_ That was actually pretty different from the original, Madjack.

_madjack89:_ Yeah, I let myself get carried away at some parts. But I think it works.

_Zoe:_ Hm, I guess I like this new version. Though I'm wondering about Kouichi's comment about me being brash because I'm part Italian… _*glances wryly at Kouichi*_

_Kouichi: *nervous*_ Heh heh…sorry.

_Zoe: *pats Kouichi's head*_ It's alright! I forgive your racism.

_Kouichi:_ Uh, thank you?

_madjack89:_ So, you guys got any plans for Valentine's Day?

_Zoe:_ We're having dinner at a nice restaurant and splitting the bill.

_madjack89:_ Chief's broke, huh?

_Kouichi: *embarrassed*_ Madjack…

_Zoe:_ No, I just thought we should both pay. I mean, I'm willing to let a guy indulge in a little pampering, but a girl's gotta be able to split the bill sometimes.

_madjack89:_ Amen, sister.

_Kouichi: *sighs*_

_Zoe:_ He did get me a present, though.

_madjack89:_ Aw, what'd you get her, Kouichi?

_Kouichi:_ A hairclip.

_madjack89:_ …Oh, I see what you did there! Ha!

_Zoe: *smirks*_ At least I didn't react the same way Sora did.

_Kouichi: *smiles sheepishly*_

_madjack89:_ Okay, hope you guys liked the re-write, and have a happy Valentine's Day!


End file.
